Work will start this summer to install new traffic lights at a major intersection in Franklin, officials at the state Department of Transportation said Tuesday.

Traffic signal lights will be installed at the intersections of Route 32 and Baltic Road, as well as Manning Road, DOT spokesman Kevin Nursick said.

“The schedule now is to have the lights installed and operational by next spring,” Nursick said.

Work would start this summer and the two sets of lights would be completed in phases. The lights have been planned for more than a year.

The work is part of a larger project involving replacement and installation of traffic signals at 17 Eastern Connecticut locations.

Other areas of work include routes 14 and 169 in Canterbury, Routes 354 and Lake Hayward Road in Colchester, Route 164 at the Interstate 395 off-ramp in Griswold, routes 12 and 14 in Plainfield and routes 2A and 12 in Preston.

The entire project will cost an estimated $2 million, Nursick said. The lights in Franklin will cost about $150,000, he said. But the state is able to save money by doing the work as part of a larger project under a single contract, he said.

Franklin’s local traffic authority asked the state to look at the Route 32 and Baltic Road intersection, Nursick said.

“It’s an efficiency issue,” Nursick said. “Folks have a difficult time making a left turn from Baltic onto Route 32.” Also, turning left onto Baltic from 32 can sometimes be problematic.

“There’s a large volume of traffic on 32, and the lack of any breaks in traffic for long stretches makes it difficult to turn,” Nursick said.

Gilberto Flores owns Emeley’s Pizza Restaurant, which is at Manning Road and Route 32. He said he’d support a light that makes it easier to traverse the intersection.

“It’s a good idea,” Flores said. “Traffic is not a problem, but I’m OK with (putting a light there.) People sometimes go fast through there, and there are a lot of cars.”